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Derrick Z. Jackson, fellow | December 18, 2020, 2:14 pm EDT This post is a part of a series on
As much as the Constitution guarantees religious freedom in the United States, it is hard to imagine a compassionate god approving of freedom that comes with the sacrifice of souls at the altar. And yet, that is what the Supreme Court in essence sanctioned in its recent 5-4 verdict invalidating New York State’s pandemic rules on in-person religious worship.
The conservative majority of justices sided with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish synagogues that the rules were discriminatory compared to those for secular businesses. The court has since also backed churches against COVID-19 restrictions in California, New Jersey, and Colorado, instructing lower courts to reconsider the cases on the basis of the New Yo